NZ opens door to rejected refugee

By JO-MARIE BROWN

A former Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, who fled his country as a refugee, has settled in New Zealand because Australia refused to accept him.

Dr Najibullah Lafraie hid in a cramped room in a house in Pakistan with his wife and four children for 11 months, not daring to go outside for fear they would be killed by agents of Afghanistan's new militant rulers.

Dr Lafraie had been hunted by the Taleban since it took control in 1996. His younger brother was already being held in shackles in an Afghan jail as a result of his disappearance.

The family dreamed of escape to a safe country and after being rejected by Australia's refugee resettlement programme, they are now making a home for themselves in New Zealand.

Dr Lafraie, aged 52, is living in Christchurch after being granted refugee status by the New Zealand Immigration Service in August but Australia's decision to reject him has sparked an outcry across the Tasman.

Refugee Council of Australia chairman Professor William Maley was outraged Australia had turned the pair down and has publicly praised New Zealand for the efficiency with which it handled the case.

"New Zealand moved swiftly and competently whereas the Australian authorities didn't," Professor Maley said.

The case has prompted Professor Maley to call for an independent inquiry into the operation of Australia's refugee programme.

Dr Lafraie, Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 1992 until 1996, did not think he had any reason to fear the Taleban when they seized power but decided to go into hiding temporarily just to be safe.

But when Taleban soldiers arrived at his home and arrested his brother because he was not there, Dr Lafraie knew his life was in danger.

"If I had fallen into the hands of the Taleban I would not be alive today."

Dr Lafraie and his family escaped to Pakistan in late 1997 but were again forced into hiding when his whereabouts became known.

His brother was then released and joined Dr Lafraie in Pakistan where they both applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for refugee resettlement in Australia.

But Dr Lafraie was shocked to learn in February 1999 that their applications had been rejected.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Dr Lafraie was turned down because the UNHCR had submitted their names to another country for resettlement.

When this later proved untrue, pressure was unsuccessfully put on Australia's Department of Immigration to reconsider the case.

However, Dr Lafraie said Australia turned them down because they were not deemed to have been in danger in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Their recent acceptance by New Zealand authorities was greeted with relief by Dr Lafraie.

He said his family had been overwhelmed by New Zealanders' hospitality.

While the family was now adjusting to life in New Zealand, their acceptance has come too late for Dr Lafraie's brother, who died from cancer this year.

Asadullah Noor Ebad had been afraid to seek medical help in Pakistan in case authorities discovered his identity and tracked Dr Lafraie down.

Dr Lafraie has four children, aged from 17 to 8, and with a PhD in political science, he now hopes to find work as a teacher.